UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[jimufctna24]

I was happy to be wrong here

 

Arlovski looked a lot more light on his feet this time out. 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah what a pleasant surprise that was. Holy fuck! Why couldn't that Arlovski have shown up and done that to Brendan Schaub? Still, Arlovski returning to the UFC in 2014 and going 2-0...it's not something many would've called, is it?

[d-d-d-dAz]

That was a treat for longer term fans, wasn't it?

 

I used to idolise Arlovski, so it's nice to see him getting a few wins under his belt. I don't think he'll trouble the top 2 in that division, but I can't see anyone currently doing that. Outside of that, it's all up in the air.

 

I loved him giving it the big'un to the fans after, as his coach doing a 'oh shit, we're gonna get shot' face and telling him off, telling him to go back an say he loves the fans. Brilliant.

 

Thought it was a bit of a slow stoppage, actually.

 

Efrain deserves to be shot by his camp. He floored Santos and then sat on his back foot waiting for the next counter opportunity. Dickhead. Santos was out on his feet.

 

Was gutted for Wendell Oliveira. He looked fucking delighted to be there.

 

The women's fight was good, with an excellent display of top position. But the younger girl didn't look like she belonged there yet. Looked a bag of nerves.

[wandshogun09]

Thought it was a bit of a slow stoppage, actually.

I thought that. The last few hammerfists shouldn't have happened. Bigfoot was out cold after the first one or two shots on the ground and the ref was a bit late calling it.

 

Efrain deserves to be shot by his camp. He floored Santos and then sat on his back foot waiting for the next counter opportunity. Dickhead. Santos was out on his feet.

 

I've never got this either. He had Santos hurt, he obviously didn't want to follow him to the ground, so make him stand up again so you can finish him off. Standing around kicking at his arse and legs is the last thing you should be doing in that situation, surely. It's a negative way of fighting, just trying to waste time and hoping you've got the round. By the time Santos was back up he seemed to have pretty much recovered. Efrain blew his one chance there. And then was shaking his head at the decision. He could've taken the judges out of the equation if he'd taken advantage.

 

The women's fight was good, with an excellent display of top position. But the younger girl didn't look like she belonged there yet. Looked a bag of nerves.

Yeah, Pacheco said as much post-fight. She looked completely overwhelmed on the ground. Andrade looked good though. Just a weird division for her. She's probably too thick to cut to 115, but she'll too small for 135 against the top five. 125 would've been ideal for her.

[Noah Southworth]

Johnny Bedford (19-11-1 1 NC) vs. Rani Yahya (19-8 1 NC) opened things up with a rematch of a controversial no-contest and we almost had another controversial ending when Bedford went for a kick when Yahya was grounded, which resulted in a brief time-out. Yahya had a guillotine on Bedford for a couple of minute’s mid-way through the first but couldn’t get a tap out. In the second, Bedford had Yahya grounded and on his knees with a front choke but Yahya pulled a slick reversal and wound up in top position; Yahya soon had a nasty looking kimura on and because he had him trapped against the cage, Bedford was forced to tap using his feet.

 

Paulo Thiago (171lbs, 15-7) vs. Sean Spencer (170lbs, 11-3) opened up with Spencer decking Thiago almost right away but Thiago recovered and was soon grappling with Spencer, but it seemed like Spencer was too strong for Thiago to do much and soon, Spencer was controlling things. When the fight hit the mat, it wasn’t for long, and even then, Spencer defended well. Thiago is looking primed to get knocked out with how low he has his hands, isn’t moving his head, etc. Thiago got rocked again early in the second and that set the tone for the rest of the round; whilst Thiago had his moments, he was dominated by Spencer, even on the ground for the most part, and it’s not looking good for Thiago heading into the third round. Spencer may have had an injured right hand but he still tagged Thiago virtually at will and did more than enough to win the round, and the fight, though both fighters, especially Thiago, looked quite tired. I’m a fan of Thiago but he looked quite poor tonight; he really hasn’t looked good in a while and this is his third straight loss, so it might be an idea for him to consider calling it a day.

 

Francisco Trinaldo (155lbs, 14-4) vs. Leandro Silva (156lbs, 16-1-1) was a decent affair but neither fighter really stood out,. And even though Silva dominated Trinaldo for most of the fight, all three give to Trinaldo 29-28.

 

Igor Araujo (171lbs, 25-6, 1 NC) vs. George Sullivan (171lbs, 15-3, 1 NC) was meant to be grappler vs. striker, but Sullivan was able to control Araujo on the ground in what turned into a fairly one-sided fight. Araujo tried to stay in the fight, but Sullivan appeared to be too strong for his more technically skilled opponent, and Sullivan finished Araujo with ground strikes midway through the second round.

 

Godofrado Castro (146lbs, 10-3) vs. Dashon Johnson (146lbs, 9-1) was pretty uneventful until the finish late in the first round. Johnson was in the guard of Castrao and begin to pound away and was promptly caught in a triangle choke and despite trying hard to escape, and actually ending up on top of Castro, Johnson had to tap when Castro yanked on the arm of Johnson for the armbar. A good finish, at least.

 

Jessica Andrade (134lbs, 11-3) vs. Larissa Pacheco (136lbs, 10-0) kicked off the main card with a one-sided domination as Andrade swarmed Pacheco right away and got her to the ground and controlled her from there on out. Andrade was relentless in keeping control and Pacheco at times seemed out of her depth, like she had no idea what to do from the bottom. Andrade was constantly going for chokes and after trying to tap Pacheco out with a guillotine a number of times, she finally got the job done with just under thirty seconds to go.

 

Iuri Alcantara (136lbs, 30-5, 1 NC) vs. Russell Doane (136lbs, 14-3) was an interesting fight because Alcantara appeared to be the better overall fighter but he had a lot of trouble handling the pace and pressure of Doane. Alcantara landed some nice strikes and his striking was clearly superior, but Doane was consistently looking for takedowns, and getting them, and looking to then dominate from top position, and doing so. At one point in the second, the referee ordered a dubious stand-up whilst Doane was in top position and both fighters were working, but I’m sure the fans booing loudly didn’t influence the referee at all(!). It was interesting going to the cards because Alcantara was the better fighter and landed the better strikes, and Doane was hit hard a number of times, but Doane clearly dominated and controlled the majority of the fight. So naturally, Alcantara got the nod in a decision that has more than a slight whiff about it, which is becoming a theme for tonight.

 

Santiago Ponzinibbio (171lbs, 19-2) vs. Wendell Oliveira (170lbs, 24-7) was short and explosive; an exchange of punches saw Ponzinibbio land a big left and he then poured it on and battered Oliveira against the cage and into unconsciousness in just 1:20. Oliveira complained about the stoppage because he was quickly back to consciousness but he was out cold.

 

Leonardo Santos (155lbs, 12-4-1) vs. Efrain Escudero (156lbs, 23-b) was a decent if unspectacular fight; when they were grappling or on the ground, Santos was dominant, but if he could get strikes going, Escudero was dominant. Apart from Escudero knocking Santos down in the second, there were no real high points of the fight; it wasn’t a bad fight but there really wasn’t anything that grabbed your attention or made either of them stand out.

 

Gleison Tibau (156lbs, 38-10) vs. Piotr Hallmann (155lbs, 15-2) started off strong with Tibau dominating Hallman, mixing strikes and ground work, but quality of the fight dipped commensurately with the pace as the fight went on. Tibau looked better standing in the first half of the fight but Hallman started to edge ahead in that department from about the halfway point, and he looked very good near the end of the fight. Tibau edges it a split decision.

 

Antonio Silva (264lbs, 18-5, 1 NC) vs. Andrei Arlovski (248lbs, 22-10, 1 NC) capped the night off and it was short and fairly explosive; we expected that, but not the ending as Arlovski cracked Silva with a right hook that floored the giant and Silva followed up with hammerfists to knock Silva out. Arlovski had his chin somewhat tested because Silva did land some good shots but Arlovski used a lot of movement and Silva didn’t have the speed to counter. Arlovski makes a statement with this win and he did look good. Sure, his chin is still in question, and it likely always will be for the rest of his career, but he looked a lot better this time out than against Schaub and it certainly looks like Arlovski has made himself a player in the heavyweight division. We’ll just have to see how long that lasts.

 

Overall, a solid night action with some definite highlights as well as some unfortunate lowlights.

 

 

[Mr Tibbs]

I think the main event was more a case of what Big Foot didn't bring as opposed to the re-birth of Andre Alovski.  This was the first time Big Foot has fought without TRT.  Boy could you tell.  He looked slow and sluggish and never really got started.  This was not the same fighter who went to war with Mark Hunt.  I don't think Alovski proved anything here.  He's still a middle tier fighter with a glass jaw.  He has decent speed and solid movement but in no way is he near the top of the food chain.  However, the HW division is so thin that another win could see him become a serious contender.  I would put him against the winner of Hunt/Nelson.  That would be a good test but I think he will get smashed because (as I've stated) he has a glass chin and Hunt and Nelson are 2 of the heaviest hitters in the division.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Woah there, woah.

 

Arlovski knocked Big Country out once, he'd do it again.

 

Possibly.

 

The heavyweight decision is funny, after JDS and Cain, there's just a big heap of journeymen fighters who aren't necessarily the best athletes, but have dynamite in their hands.

 

It makes booking them a nightmare, I imagine.

 

In theory, Cain should smush the lot of them. But, just imagine Big Roy catches him with a hairy haymaker. Then what happens? Danas got to do press, defending the position of UFC as a credible destination for elite athletes, whilst presenting Nelson as his heavyweight torch bearer.

 

They really need to bring through some proper heavyweights. Else, before we know it we'll have Nelson v Mitrione for the belt.

[Mr Tibbs]

That was along time ago.  Nelson is much better fighter and Arlovski (if anything), has gone backwards!

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I can't see Arlovski going much further. Any further really. I don't think anyone truly thinks he's back based off this but I wouldn't put it all down to Bigfoot coming off TRT either. Arlovski looked a lot better than he did in June. Fuck, he attacked more in that 90 seconds, or whatever the fight lasted, than he did in 15 minutes against Schaub. His own performance was much improved. Bigfoot has always been inconsistent as well. Once he gets warmed up he can take some shots, but he's been taken out early a few times as well. The TRT thing might've been part of it but it's not like Bigfoot hadn't been stopped early before. And Arlovski can still crack.

 

But yeah, I don't like his chances if he fights the Hunt vs Nelson winner. Who the fuck really knows at heavyweight though? Anyone can KO anyone on a given day.

 

Apparently there's going to be news on TUF Brazil 4 at UFC 179 in October. With JDS at the show last night, I wonder if he's agreed to coach. In a way I hope not because he's already been out ages. This will just delay his comeback further. But I've got a feeling they might do TUF Brazil 4: Team Dos Santos vs Team Overeem. And have Arlovski fight Miocic. Might've been nothing but I thought it was telling how after Arlovski KO'd Bigfoot, they had clips of Miocic at the ready straight after as a potential next opponent.

 

So that's my guess;

 

Velasquez vs Werdum is November.

JDS vs Overeem on TUF Brazil, hopefully leading to them fighting early next year.

Arlovski vs Miocic later this year.

Browne vs Schaub is already booked.

Do Rothwell vs Meathead.

Maybe do that Nog vs Mir 3 fight they're both talking about.

Barnett vs Bigfoot. Might as well, and there's beef there.

 

And for now, if Cain beats Werdum with no controversy - fuck it, just give the Hunt vs Nelson winner the title shot. People might moan but what's the alternative at this point? Keeps Cain busy while the division hopefully works itself out, and at least those two have names and are fun to watch. Better than Cain vs Meathead or something.

 

Speaking of Hunt vs Nelson;

 

 

FIGHT PASS MAIN CARD

Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson

Takanori Gomi vs Myles Jury

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Amir Sadollah

Miesha Tate vs Rin Nakai

Kiichi Kunimoto vs Richard Walsh

Kyoji Horiguchi vs Jon Delos Reyes

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Alex Caceres vs Masenori Kanehara

Katsunori Kikuno vs Sam Sicilia

Hyun Gyu Lim vs Takenori Sato

Michinori Tanaka vs Kyung Ho Kang

Kazuki Tokudome vs Johnny Case

Maximo Blanco vs Dan Hooker

 

Just checked and this is on BT Sport 2 at 9:30pm on Saturday. Perfect. Be nice to watch at a decent time.

 

I love the look of this. The main card anyway.

 

Hunt vs Nelson is a fight we've been on about on here for what seems like at least two or three years. Every time one of them fought, you could bet that someone would suggest this fight on here the next day. It's just a perfect fit. Two big fat heavyweights, with concrete heads, granite chins, brick fists and jelly bellies. How can you not love this match-up?

 

It's one of those fights that I could see being very sloppy and ugly if it goes past round two. But I can't wait. It's right up the Japanese MMA fans' street as well. There's a bit of a Pride feel to this fight for me.

 

 

Co-main event is Gomi vs Jury. Bit of a weird fight to call. I'm not sure how good Jury is yet. He's coming in off the biggest win of his career over Diego Sanchez, but I think Gomi's a tougher test. Gomi gets wild and reckless and he sometimes gasses but he's always dangerous bell-to-bell. And he does a few things really well. His body shots are effective and he's got decent takedown defence. It's a good fight. I'm leaning slightly towards Jury on points but I'd love to see a Gomi KO.

 

Sexyama's back!

 

 

Yes, Yoshihiro Akiyama finally returns to the UFC. I say returns to the UFC but he's been under contract the whole time. I don't know what he's been doing. Womanizing, I guess.

 

To take two years off at 39 years old when the sand timer's running out is a strange move. But he's back now. Last fought in Feb 2012. Always a crowd pleaser. Proof of that is that the UFC refuse to cut him despite a 1-4 UFC record.

 

He's fighting Amir Sadollah. TUF 7 winner. He's in kind of the same boat as Akiyama really. Hasn't fought since Sep 2012, where he lost a decision to Dan Hardy in Nottingham. He's got a patchy UFC record as well, although he hasn't been faced with as tough a run of opponents as Akiyama.

 

I think this should be a fun fight. Both like to strike. Amir's got some solid Muay Thai, although he lacks a bit in power. Sex has power but lacks a bit in technical striking. Sex has the Judo background to fall back on, Amir's got decent BJJ. Should be good.

 

 

Miesha Tate vs Rin Nakai is an intriguing fight. Mostly because not a great deal is known about Nakai. She's a bit of an enigma. She's 16-0-1 with 10 finishes. But there's been criticism that she's had a bit of favourable treatment in Japan in terms of matchmaking and stacking the odds in her favour. She also got a decision win over Tara LaRosa last year that many thought she should've lost. I never saw it. Regardless, she's 16-0-1. And she's making her UFC debut against Miesha Tate. The days of Japanese promoters protecting her are over.

 

Another thing with Nakai is the creepy way she was promoted in Japan. Go on YouTube and search Rin Nakai. All sorts of weird shit. Videos of her vacuuming, cooking and one where she's got beetles being put on her because she's scared of them and someone thought it would be funny, I guess. It's weird as fuck. But in Japan, this stuff is probably on morning telly. She's got a look on her face in these videos like she's doing it against her will as well. It's quite disturbing. And get this, apparently it's her husband who's behind this and gets her to do this stuff.

 

Her weigh in should be interesting as well if her past ones are anything to go on;

 

 

You know, Bolo Yeung actually looks alright there in underwear and bunny ears. There's a sentence I never thought I'd type.

 

Miesha Tate should probably win this. I think. But maybe Nakai is better than people think. It's not like Tate is a world beater. She's not a big hitter and wrestling and submissions is her main game. And Nakai's physical strength might offset that. Interesting fight.

 

Kunimoto vs Walsh does nothing for me really. Walsh was on TUF 19 and I thought he was horrible. Really sloppy striking and a smothering and insomnia curing ground game. So on that basis alone, I'm pulling for Kunimoto.

 

Horiguchi vs Delos Reyes completes the main card. I like what we've seen of Horiguchi so far. 13-1, 2-0 in the UFC. Good striking. I thought he looked really good against Darrell Montague in his last fight. Delos Reyes, I've never heard of. He's 7-3. All his wins are finishes.

 

Prelims, I won't see and I don't have much opinion on. Hoping Lim and Kikuno get back in the win column though.

 

Caceres vs Kanehara could be the sleeper on this card for me actually. Caceres always brings it. I don't think I've seen him in a bad fight yet. He just lost to Urijah Faber in July but that was Urijah Faber. And Leeroy didn't do terribly. Before that Caceres stopped the undefeated Sergio Pettis. Kanehara holds wins over KID Yamamoto, Korean Zombie and Michihiro Omigawa. Former Sengoku featherweight champion. Could be the show stealer. I really wish this was on the main card instead of Kunimoto vs Walsh.

 

Looks like fun, this one.

 

[weevil]

What have the UFC got against Alex Caceres? He's a good fighter, he has entertaining matches, he has an entertaining personality, and yet, this is his eleventh fight in the company and he has never been on the main card, even against Urijah Faber. Six of his fights were on Facebook!

[Noah Southworth]

Re: Arlovski/Silva. Whilst the lack of TRT undoubtedly hurt Silva in terms of performance, it didn’t make his chin any stronger, and Arlovksi knocking him down and out is still quite a feat. Sure, Arlovski’s chin will invariably end up letting him down, but at least his knock out power, which is clearly still there, means he’ll still be a threat for as long as he can avoid getting cracked on the jaw.

 

Mark Hunt (9-8-1) vs. Roy Nelson (20-9) will probably be a slobberknocker for as long as it lasts, or until Nelson decides to take Hunt down, which is where Nelson has his strongest advantage. People expect a knock-out but I’m thinking Nelson crosses everyone up and takes things to the ground. It’s the smart thing to do against Hunt, but Nelson doesn’t always play smart. I think he will here, though.

 

Myles Jury (14-0) vs. Takanori Gomi (35-9, 1 NC) I expect to the downer of the night for the Japanese fans; Jury is on his way up and has looked good in the process, whilst Gomi is on the way down. Gomi is still good, and durable, but I think Jury outworks Gomi and maybe finishes him late on.

 

Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5, 2 NC) vs. Amir Sadollah (6-4) is where the Japanese have a decent chance at getting the result they want. Akiyama has been out for over two-years due to injuries but Sadollah has as well, and all things being equal, Akiyama should still have enough to beat Sadollah.

 

Miesha Tate (14-5) vs. Rin Nakai (16-0-1) sees the return of PRIDE in what is essentially a gimmick match for the Japanese market. Nakai isn’t pure gimmick because she has some skills, but she’s not in Tate’s league as a fighter, in any way, and is more look that anything else. This one is all about a cute fighter facing whatever the hell Nakai is meant to be, either fetish model or pin-up or some very Japanese-like combination of both.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah Tate's definitely more tested against good competition. Even if she's lost to most of the better fighters, her submission win over Marloes Coenen alone is more impressive than anything Nakai has done so far in her career.

 

I was reading stuff about Nakai's record. Some shady shit in there for sure. Here's a bit of an article on Nakai's record;

 

Rin has fought a slew of professional wrestlers, and when she isn’t shoot-punching Kyoko Kimura, her opponents are banned from using knees and going for chokes due to missing weight. Typically, not meeting the decided upon weight results in a deduction of the fight purse, or the bout doesn’t happen, but because Japan is weird, the fight goes on, just with one person at a severe disadvantage. Oh, and if any of Nakai’s opponents had say, knocked her out, the bout would have been recorded as a no contest, so there was literally no way for Nakai to be beaten on some of those occasions.

The fight referred to was against British fighter Danielle West. Who, with a 4-5 record, went to a split draw with Nakai. In Japan. That kind of paints a picture that Nakai probably isn't much cop if she's going to a draw with a fighter with a losing record, even with Japanese judging bias going in her favour.

 

Anyway, the whole West fight sounds dodgy as fuck. Here's some quotes;

 

Aisling Daly;

"Danielle's treatment before the fight was ridiculous. Forcing her to cut water weight on the day of the fight, also, the rules were unfair. If there are no chokes / knees allowed, this should apply to both fighters, not just one. A no contest for this would be the fairest thing after this farce.

 

Rin was allowed to knee, which Danielle discovered mid fight while being knee'd in the face by Rin. It's poor treatment. Ultimately Danielle missed weight by 1 kg. There have been far bigger misses with little or no penalty... either take the fight or don't.

 

It should have been standard missed-weight procedure. Either you don't take the fight full stop, or you agree it's a non-title fight but same rule set. It must be horrible to be on your way to the venue and still not know if you're fighting or not. Everything should have been set in stone at the weigh ins.

 

I was speaking to Danielle and that was what she said. I don't think poor communication can be an excuse for this. It's a promoter's responsibility to make sure foreign fighters are entirely informed."

Another fighter, Celine Haga;

 

"(They) wouldn't even allow her to use her entrance music. They played mind games with her the whole day of the weigh-in -- Telling her the fight was not going to happen, asking her to weigh in at the same as her weight on fight day, not showing up with a translator at the weigh-in as they said they would, not letting her fight with the same rules.

 

No chokes, no knees. Nakai's game plan was one thing, takedowns! So no danger for shooting or clinching.

 

After the fight, (they kept) danielle in a room for 1 hour or more, telling her she did a bad fight, and trying to make her pay $1000 for not making weight. This is the worst thing I've seen from any promotion."

And Danielle West herself;

 

"Even if I had knocked her out the fight would have been a draw. Apparently they changed the rules before the fight when that dude made his announcement. He was saying that if I won, the fight would be ruled a draw or a no contest and the title would remain vacant. There was no scenario where I was able to officially win the fight or get the title so I literally fought a losing battle.

 

I was also told before the fight I was not allowed to throw knees or attempt any choke submissions since I was 1kg over the agreed weight. In the fight you can see me complain to the ref that she was using knees and this was because we were under the impression that the knees and chokes ban were for both fighters, and was informed during the fight the ban was for me only.

 

I was responsible for making weight and f***ed up weighing in 1kg over. I accept this as my mistake and my responsibility, though the treatment I received from the promotion and its affiliates in response to this was reprehensible in its aggressive frank attempt to secure a win for their fighter. It prejudiced the entire match and outcome and leaves a blight on the sport in Japan as far as I am concerned.

 

I can no longer afford to compete financially and after this last outing, fail to see any value in the emotional cost of the camps and hassles with promoters either. I am finished with trying to source revenue to cover training and physio costs, pouring so much time and energy into training when I could be spending it with loved ones or on other pursuits where I am not going to be set up to fail in order to promote an opponent."

Fucked up. I mean, it's not Nakai's fault the promoters were shady but it stills raises big red flags about her record when you see the lengths Pancrase went to to keep her in the win column.

[Egg Shen]

blown away by Arlovski's performance on Saturday night.

 

In one regard i don't think i should be because Silva was flat, footed and slow as fuck...i think it was more that it felt like watching the Arlovski of old, he was light on his feet and was throwing hurtful punches, i haven't seen that kind of killer instinct out of him in a long time. I guess the body language going in meant Arlovski was feeling very confident and it reflected in his performance. I think he's the kind of fighter that struggles to perform if he isn't mentally sound fight night, looks like he got it all right Saturday.

 

...after being written off so much it was great to see him silence some critics.

 

Thought Alcantara/Doane was a better shout for fight of the night over Tibau/Hallman. Alcantara needs to work on his takedown defence though.

 

i'll echo the Efrain Escudero frustration too, im not quite sure what he was doing. I understood the fact that he didn't dive into Santos' guard but he kind of stood in a position where the ref. was going to jump in and stand Santos up, and Santos was never going to stand up off his own back...he should have walked away and made the ref stand him up instantly. I dunno if you put it down to dull fight IQ or what? but it probably cost Escudero his position in the UFC again.

[jimufctna24]

I hope Hunt wins, cannot stand Smug Country

 

Hunt has improved on the ground, as he showed against Struve, But I agree with Noah, that Nelson holds an advantage on the mat. I think Hunt holds an advantage in the stand up though. Hunt is the more agile fatty, and is less of a slugger than Nelson

 

I will go with Hunt on points.

[Egg Shen]

as much as id like to see a war, i see Nelson overhand right landing early and closing the show.